Family tree rooted in LMC

ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR Local Bodies Directorate has recommended the suspension of section officer in the Lucknow Municipal Corporation Shri Prakash for promoting nepotism and favouritism in the appointment of the employees in the various departments of LMC. Additional director Kedarnath, after a probe against the said officer, found the charges levelled to be true.

ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR Local Bodies Directorate has recommended the suspension of section officer in the Lucknow Municipal Corporation Shri Prakash for promoting nepotism and favouritism in the appointment of the employees in the various departments of LMC. Additional director Kedarnath, after a probe against the said officer, found the charges levelled to be true.

The section officer is said to so well connected that LMC bosses are afraid of taking any action against him. According to LMC sources, municipal bosses would ignore the recommendation of additional director urban development, as they know the clout of the section officer. Besides, many senior officials too are likely to come under fire if they go on with his suspension orders.

According to the probe report, the charges against section officer Shri Prakash regarding appointment of his 22 relatives in the Lucknow Municipal Corporation have been found true.

The probe was ordered against Shri Prakash in May 2004 and inquiry report was dispatched to the LMC office through a letter on September 27 this year.

According to the report, the section officer has influenced various municipal commissioners to appoint his two sons, his sons-in-law and other distant relatives. Besides he has also been responsible for large number of anomalies in the appointment section of the LMC.

“The section officer has been in charge of the appointment cell under the various municipal chiefs. Instead of ensuring selection of employees on the basis of merit, he has promoted nepotism in the department,” said a highly placed official of LMC on condition of anonymity.

According to reports, two of his sons, Manoj Kumar Verma and Raj Kumar Verma, are working as stenographers in different zones of the LMC. His brothers Om Prakash, Virendra Prakash and Ram Prakash too are working in the LMC in different capacities. Wife of his late brother, who expired during service, Lalita Verma and her daughter Renu Verma are working as computer operators in the different departments of the LMC. Another member of his family Sushma Devi, Shri Devi, Ghan Shyam Verma , Rajeshwar Prasad Verma, Padam Prakash Verma are also serving in LMC. Besides the appointment racket, the role fo section officer was probed in the case of allotments of shops in front of medical college, allotment of LMC shops in Lalbagh, payment of wages to the employees appointed in census.

Municipal Commissioner Ram Bodh Maurya says, “I have called additional municipal commissioner Santosh Kumar with all the papers and reports of the additional director, tomorrow. We will decide after going through the papers.

The government orders would be surely followed if anyone has committed any wrong that too knowingly then he will have to face the action.”

On the question of his relatives serving in LMC, Maurya said, “We will decide on all the issues tomorrow. No one getting entry into the LMC through wrong means would be spared.”